He is an LGBTQ+ activist, and his work in this area shares common threads with his environmental advocacy and, above all else, his desire to uphold indigenous culture and tradition. Cypress identifies as a gay man and a Two Spirit person, meaning he is a person with both feminine and masculine spirit. This mindset expands into his other pursuits as well. Our sense of responsibility is strengthened,” he said. “When we have new friendships and new coalitions, we learn. When it comes to issues like climate change, he considers the work that he does to be an opportunity to build relationships. “So much of the things that I identify with as a Miccosukee man are the stories, and the traditions, the dances, the art forms that have been gifted to me from my ancestors,” he said.Ĭypress is a storyteller himself and he uses his artform to build a community, something that is a theme in much of his work. This storytelling tradition is something that Cypress calls the living narrative - stories that are alive, and that have been carried for centuries, passed down through generations. Miccosukee histories and traditions are not written. “Art that is collaborative, art that embraces multiple voices…I think art can inspire action, and that art can bring positive change to the land.” “I like how art can be a convening force,” he said. He is a storyteller and a poet but his focus is never just on the piece that he is creating, it’s also on the relationships and the interactions that make it possible. Throughout his productions, Cypress has come to appreciate the teamwork required to create a film. He says that his ancestors fought to be able to live here and he wants to honor those hardships by defending the wetlands. He was raised on tales of his tribe’s time in the Everglades and he wants to restore the landscape so that future generations can share in that history. In his short film entitled “…what endures.,” he reads his poetry, a musical combination of the Miccosukee and English languages.Ĭourtesy of Houston Cypress Houston Cypress finds a sense of identity and purpose in storytelling. His work combines advocacy, arts, education and spirituality with the goal of inspiring action and bringing positive change to the land.Ĭypress is not just an activist but a filmmaker as well, and his productions are love letters to the Everglades. In 2018, Cypress founded a nonprofit called Love the Everglades Movement to bring attention to these issues. And many plant communities are migrating inland, away from coastal areas. Invasive species have been taking over, outcompeting native plants and wildlife. “Climate change and sea level rise, and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms.”Įxcess nutrients degrade the water quality in the Everglades, said Cypress. “It’s really concerning how changes in the environment are impacting our spiritual and cultural practices,” he said. He said these practices heal illnesses in the body, the mind and the spirit. He learned from his elders about traditional plant practices that involve activating specific plants through song and prayer, and these customs are dependent on native plant species like the bay tree. He wants to preserve his community’s cultural traditions for the next generation. Sometimes it felt like he was still dreaming as he watched the fog and the mist roll over the river of grass, and his grandparents would tell him the stories of the places they visited.Ĭypress is a member of the Otter Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and an advocate for the restoration of the Everglades. They would move through the water, lulled by the early morning sounds of buzzing insects and squawking birds. Houston Cypress was a little boy, his grandparents would wake him up just before school to take him out on airboat rides in the Everglades.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |